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Thursday, January 12, 2017

Scooping Out Ancestors for History #georgiapioneers

Scooping out Ancestors Teaches History Not Found in Schools

If you really want to find your ancestors, a diligent and dedicated study is indicated. Not only do we need to search census and county records, but we need to know the history of the age during which they lived. There are all sorts of clues out there. For instance, City Directories offer street addresses, the names of family members and occupations. However, a visit to the old home place will open up a new world of information for the genealogist. Names of neighbors are gleaned from those directories and perhaps some childhood memories. But better still, there was a history of the times. What was it? Perhaps the First World War. If so, grandparents, uncles and sons would have enlisted and those records are available at the National Archives. Civil War pensions for the State of Georgia are available on this (Georgia Pioneers) website as well as some pensions of Revolutionary War Soldiers. Even the most remote neighborhoods had a church. These old buildings and adjoining cemeteries should be explored. Write down the names of neighbors listed in deeds and included as witnesses in probate records. One needs to have an understanding of those who shared the old days. Also, the identify of all families having the same surname, which is easily kept on family group sheets. In other words, in order to prevent researching the wrong lineage, the researcher needs to "know the neighborhood". It is a quest of time worthy of sharing with less interested family members. "Less interested" because until you insert the history, they will not grasp the sacrifices which brought the family to America, nor will they realize the powerful gifts of their blood heritage, and the brave road which the ancestors constructed to freedom. Our freedom. Bryan Co. GA Genealogy Resources